The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation today announced a
$1,250,000 partnership with Johnson & Johnson to initiate and expand
programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in seven
developing countries. In recognition of World Health Day and its theme, “Make
every mother and child count,” the partnership will support training of health
care workers, the delivery of HIV counseling, testing and critical drug
interventions at 200 health care delivery sites in China, India, Russia, Malawi,
the Republic of Georgia, Zimbabwe and Dominican Republic. Through these efforts,
the Glaser Foundation expects to reach 200,000 women a year with PMTCT services
that significantly reduce a mother's chance of passing HIV to her newborn baby.
“The dramatic reduction in mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the
United States has been a true success story in the fight against pediatric
AIDS,” said Kate Carr, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation. “We work everyday with the hope of one day achieving that same
success around the world. And thanks to Johnson & Johnson's generous
support, we will be able to further expand our lifesaving programs and get one
step closer to reaching our goal.”
The program announced today expands a
successful two-year collaboration between Johnson & Johnson and the
Foundation's Call to Action (CTA) Program, an initiative to provide PMTCT
services at health sites in parts of the world that lack adequate resources.
“We know from firsthand experience with the Foundation's Call to Action
program that a better world is possible by preventing thousands of newborn
babies from being infected daily with HIV,” said Alfred T. Mays, Vice President
of Corporate Contributions and Community Relations at Johnson & Johnson. “We
are committed to helping eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in these
high-risk areas - and to ensuring that these precious children get a healthy
start in life.”
The support from Johnson & Johnson builds on U.S.
Government funding the Foundation is receiving through the President's Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief. The overall goals of the partnership between Johnson &
Johnson and the Foundation include:
-- expanding PMTCT services in
underrepresented areas;
-- complementing and leveraging government
support to reach more families;
-- improving quality and uptake of
services;
-- establishing successful PMTCT models which can be
replicated and sustained; and
-- ensuring the sustainability of PMTCT
programs.
In 2004, the collaboration between the Glaser Foundation and
Johnson & Johnson reached more than 170,000 women in antenatal care,
providing voluntary counseling and HIV testing to more than 116,000 women and
providing preventive drug interventions to over 4,300 HIV-positive pregnant
women. Lessons learned through this partnership will be shared with other
implementers and key stakeholders at an annual conference supported by Johnson
& Johnson.
About the Foundation's Call to Action
ProjectCall to Action was launched with private funding in September
1999, and initially supported eight sites in six countries. As the project grew,
the Foundation increased its capacity to implement at more sites. In just four
years, CTA reached over 1.4 million women with critical PMTCT services. With
geographically, culturally and economically diverse sites in approximately 600
health care facilities in 20 countries, and support from key donors such as
Johnson & Johnson, CTA has given hundreds of thousands of women and infants
a chance for a healthy future.
About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric
AIDS FoundationThe Foundation creates a future of hope for children
and families worldwide by eradicating pediatric AIDS, providing care and
treatment to people with HIV/AIDS, and accelerating the discovery of new
treatments for other serious and life-threatening pediatric illnesses. For more
information, visit
http://www.pedaids.org.
About Johnson &
JohnsonJohnson & Johnson, through its operating companies, is
the world's most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care
products, as well as a provider of related services, for the consumer,
pharmaceutical and medical devices and diagnostic markets. The more than 200
Johnson & Johnson operating companies employ approximately 109,900 men and
women in 57 countries and sell products throughout the world.
http://www.jnj.com.